KLHK Examines Asphalt Pollution Contaminating North Nias Sea

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) is investigating a case of marine pollution due to an asphalt spill after a tanker loaded with 1,900 tons of asphalt sank in the waters of Humene Siheneasi Village, Tugala Oyo District, North Nias Regency, North Sumatra Province.

Director General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ratio Ridho Sani, said that the impact of pollution and damage to marine ecosystems can disrupt the ability of marine ecosystem services.

"The pollutant material not only has the potential to disrupt the life of marine biota, but also endangers the people who consume marine catches from the affected area," he said as reported by ANTARA, Monday, February 27.

Ratio said marine pollution intersects with the implementation of the national blue agenda in realizing more sustainable marine economic growth.

"Therefore, I have instructed the team to carry out law enforcement efforts to oblige MTA to return environmental losses and carry out coastal and marine cleaning due to spillage of MTA cargo," he added.

The MT A ship that sank was caused by a leak in the right side of the hull due to the waves and the rusty condition of the ship. MT A is a Gabon-flagged tanker and carries a crew of 20 Indian nationals.

The asphalt spill at the site has reached a radius of 50 kilometers to the Marine Protected Area of ​​North Nias Regency (Toyoolawa Waters, Lahewa). This condition causes local fishermen to be unable to go to sea and lose their livelihood.

Director of Environmental Dispute Resolution of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Jasmin Ragil Utomo said the verification of environmental disputes regarding the sinking of MT A was the initial stage in resolving environmental disputes outside the court, which would then be followed up with the clarification stage and subsequent stages which included the loss calculation stage, and negotiation and facilitation.

"We consider that the settlement of environmental disputes outside the court is more effective in saving environmental losses or affected communities because the settlement process takes relatively less time and costs less," said Ragil.

The verification activity was carried out from 25 February to 1 March 2023 by the Environmental Dispute Verification Team of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry together with ecotoxicologists, experts on economic valuation of coastal and marine resources, coral reef experts, coral bioecologists, and applied oceanography or modeling experts.

These experts are independent to assess the occurrence of environmental pollution and damage, determining the form and amount of loss to the environment or affected communities, as well as the cleanup actions of the spilled cargo that must be carried out by MT A.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry will demand compensation for environmental damages based on the calculation results from the valuation expert, including coastal recovery actions that must be carried out by the owner of the tanker.

In addition, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will facilitate the settlement of environmental disputes out of court due to community losses based on requests from affected communities.

The verification activity was carried out in a joint survey involving the North Sumatra Provincial Environmental Service, the North Nias Regency Environmental Service, and the owner or representative of MT A.